You’re Choosing Exhaustion (And You Know It)
You’re not tired because you’re doing too much.
You’re tired because you’re choosing too much.
Let me share two personal examples (because apparently I’m a slow learner when it comes to this particular lesson).
The first one happened back when I was running one-on-one done-for-you online business management services.
I took on five clients. Five. And I made massive promises to all of them because I have this habit (read: compulsion) of wanting to blow people’s minds every single month they pay me.
I didn’t just deliver. I over-delivered. Then I one-upped myself. Then I did it again.
My clients weren’t demanding more. But I trained them to expect it. I taught them to depend on me for everything.
The boundary crossing? The scope creep? That was all me.
I didn’t just allow it to happen. I sent it a formal invitation with a plus-one.
I was exhausted and now other people were now holding me to the standard I created.
The external consequences of my choice were exhaustion.
Now fast forward to today.
I’m a more mature entrepreneur. I’ve gotten much better at setting boundaries with clients. I know how to say no. I know how to protect my scope.
But I still can’t set boundaries with myself.
I have an alarm that goes off at 4:30pm every day. It tells me to log off. Close the computer. Be done.
And yet… if dinner’s already in the crockpot and everyone in the house is happily distracted and I don’t have to stop… I don’t.
I keep working. Because I love it.
I genuinely love playing with AI, building systems, creating content that helps other founders see what’s possible.
But my body? It’s begging me to stop.
Fun fact I learned at the eye doctor this past Saturday: when you stare at a screen, you reduce your blinking by 40%. Your eyes dry out. They lose the ability to focus.
Mine have been watering constantly. I can’t watch TV at night without my vision going blurry. I can’t even read a book.
My eyes are literally screaming at me to rest.
And I’m still choosing to work.
Here’s what I want you to hear:
Exhaustion is a choice. Even when you don’t like the other option.
Setting boundaries with clients is one thing. Most of us eventually figure that out.
We learn to say no to scope creep, to bad-fit clients, to projects that drain us.
But setting boundaries with ourselves? That’s the real battle.
Because the thing exhausting you might be something you actually love. And that makes it so much harder to walk away from.
And here’s the worse part:
This doesn’t get easier as you grow. You just trade one set of exhausting choices for another.
When I had five OBM clients, I was exhausted from trying to impress them.
Now I run a scalable business with systems and boundaries and way more freedom… and I’m exhausted from loving my work too much.
Different level. Different choices. Same lesson.
Let me say it again, louder for the people in the back…
The choices you make are what’s exhausting you. Not the work itself.
And sometimes, both choices kind of suck.
(who else is loving the Indiana Jones theme we got going on this issue?)
CHOICE 1: Work and get exhausted.
CHOICE 2: Stop and feel like you’re missing out or falling behind.
There’s no perfect option. But you’re still choosing.
The first step to breaking the cycle? Acknowledge that you’re the one making the choice. Not your clients. Not your circumstances. You.
This Week’s Challenge:
Take a hard look at what’s exhausting you right now.
Is it external?
Client work that’s bleeding into your evenings? Saying yes to networking events because of FOMO? Chasing revenue at the expense of family time?
Or is it internal?
Choosing to work because you love it, even when your body is begging you to stop?
Once you identify it, weigh it.
On one side of the scale: the thing you’re doing. On the other side: the actual level of exhaustion it’s causing.
Which one is winning?
Then make a ruthless call. What are you going to keep doing? What are you going to let go of?
I did this on Monday during my weekly CEO planning session. I looked at my calendar for the next six weeks and felt exhausted just seeing how much I’d committed to.
My AI strategy coach and I went through all eight commitments, and I cut two of them.
Not because they were bad opportunities, but because the reasons I said yes weren’t good enough to justify the cost.
Sometimes the answer to “Is this exhaustion worth it?” is yes. But eventually, it won’t be. You can only survive so long before you break.
So audit your exhaustion. Then choose differently.
And get your hands the REAL treasure!
One more thing:
Keep in mind that, as you grow your business, the decisions that drain you will change.
The boundaries you need to set with clients at $50K are not the same ones you need at $500K.
The choices that protect you in Year 1 are different from the ones you need in Year 5.
That’s okay. That’s normal.
But the very first thing we have to do, before we can fix it, is acknowledge it.
The choices we make are what’s exhausting us.
Not the market. Not the algorithm. Not our clients.
Us.
And if you’re reading this and thinking, “I don’t even know where to start auditing my business,” I’ve got you.
Join me on Monday, February 16th for my 7-Figure CEO System Behind-the-Scenes Sneak Peek.
I’m walking you through a self-assessment of the four main pillars every healthy, successful business needs to have in place to grow and scale sustainably without sacrificing your sanity.
It’s free. It’s fast. And it’ll show you exactly where your exhaustion is coming from.
Now go rest. Or at least set a 4:30pm alarm and actually listen to it. (I’m talking to both of us here.)
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